Monday, December 29, 2014

At the close of each year, many people look towards the upcoming year, but I think it is also important to reflect on the past year. After all, it is through understanding our past that we are better able to more fully understand ourselves and make decisions for the future (Later on this week, I will discuss 2015 goals).

So, many bloggers in the blogosphere have explored this idea of using one word to encapsulate their goals for the next year. These words are supposed to epitomize many things, so they are usually words that have a more grandiose concept like: create, relationships, gratitude, etc. I very much like this idea, and I will probably do it one year. However, I enjoy the concept of using this to reflect upon my past year, and I gave myself an assignment to come up with a word to describe the past year. After much deliberation the perfect word hit me: TRY!

It is so perfect. You don't even know.

This past year, I have tried to shut away so many insecurities and fears of failure to do things that I have never even attempted. Previously, I had such great fears of failure, and I was worried that others were going to notice the failure. However, I am truly recognizing that in order to succeed you have to fail, and it is okay to fail. How else do you learn? This isn't to say that I am still scared of failure, but I have much more of a let it go philosophy.

This year, I have been trying so many things, and I love it!
-Moved in with my mister. The first significant other that I have lived with.
-Finally taught myself to sew. I am still learning.
-So many crafting trys (and failures!)
-My fashion sense is a lot more off kilter, but it is a lot more me these days.
-Riding my bike Fennewick a whole lot
-Living in Portland
-Doing a whole commute with public transportation
-Making a lot of different drinks: kombucha, various lemonades, etc.
-First gardening experience
-Trying different foods and different places
-Viewing people from different angles without the judgmental tone of the past
-Hiding even more random objects
-Starting this blog
-Connecting with more people via the interwebs

With all of these wonderful opportunities, what will 2015 bring? We'll see.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

One of the presents that I made for the holiday season was some coffee liqueur for my papa smurf. He has a love for Kahlua (who doesn't?). I've been wanting to dabble into the world of making liqueurs for awhile, and this seemed like a wonderful opportunity.

I bought this book, and I used the coffee liqueur recipe a new recipe. This recipe was absolutely freaking delicious, and if you know what is good for you, MAKE IT! The book is amazing, and it is full of other great liqueurs...plus it is CHEAP.

Here is what you need:

-4 cups of sugar

-2 cups of water

-2/3 cup of instant coffee

-10 whole coffee beans

-2-3 TBSP of vanilla extract

-a fifth of vanilla vodka

-3/4 a cup of brandy

Additional needed items:

-measuring cup

-pan

-stove

-measuring spoon

-large glass container

The steps:

1.) Take 3/4 cup of the vanilla vodka and replace that amount with 3/4 cup of brandy. You should have a fifth of alcohol when all is measured.

2.) Mix the sugar, water, and instant coffee in a pan over medium heat and bring it to a full on boil. Act fast because it will boil over fast! Remove the froth from on top of the mixture. Allow the mixture to cool completely and then pour the mixture into the large glass container.

I have been kind of off the radar lately between making Christmas presents and being with those that I love. But I am back!

Here are some snapshots from the last month.

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Here is the lowdown:

1.) Stark Street Pizza noms

2.) Hopworks flight. A flight with 15 beers is my kind of flight.

3.) Our cutesie little Christmas tree.

4.) Gingerbread mochas at Caffee Destino

5.) Coffee and noms at Water Avenue

6.) Homemade dinosaur ornaments for my nephews.

7.) Homemade lotion bars for Christmas presents. Oh man guys, they smell so freaking delicious. I might need to make a tutorial for these soon.

8.) I made these bird feeder guys. I followed this tutorial. However, I added an extra step to the directions. After I tied the twine through the hole, I made another small batch of gelatin, and I dipped each of the bird feeders into the gelatin.

Friday, December 12, 2014

I've been bad about posting lately: 'Tis the holiday season. I haven't lost pace-trust me. Just a busy girl in a holiday world.

Here is what this week has looked like around here this week:

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Here is the lowdown:
1.) Finally went to Little Big Burger. The fries were delicious, but the burger was underwhelming. It was good for the style of joint, but I think that I just had too high of hopes.
2.) Went out to Alexis and we enjoyed a plethora of Greek food options with out of town friends, and we also saw a schmexy belly dancer.
3.) Had breakfast at Bipartisan Cafe. We sat at the bar style seating which was fun to watch all of the mechanics of the coffee shop. Also, they serve Water Avenue Coffee which is some of the best coffee that you will encounter in the Portland neck of the woods. Lurve.
4.) This year, we opted out for the Portland Holiday Ale fest because of a price increase, and we decided to have our own warm holiday ale fest at home. We got more beer for our money, and we got to stay warm. We got everything for this adventure at Beer Bottle Mecca: Belmont Station.
5.) Today is the Mister's birthday, but all week, I have been surprising him with little gifts in the morning. These guys are from a princess capsule growing kit. Do you see the castle?
6.) I have been hustling through the "His Dark Materials" series to hurry up and read this book. Last year, I bought this to read for this holiday season. David Sedaris NEVER disappoints, and he is one of the funniest authors...ever. I was laughing on the bus reading this. I was THAT girl.
7.) Trying to still get the house all Christmas-y. Here's a joke for you: How did Darth Vader know what Luke got him for Christmas? He felt his presents!
8.) Making birthday and Christmas presents around here lately. I can't really show anything off in case if anyone looks at this, but this is a sneak at a present for a family member,

Saturday, December 6, 2014

it is that time of year where you are frenzy for gift ideas, and it can be stressful to buy a present for someone. However, I have some tips that might make it a little easier, and it will help you be a little bit more "green" at the same time. Double Bonus! Wait, we have a triple bonus! These items are usually the best on the wallet.

When contemplating a "green" present, there are 8 main categories.
1.) Experiences
2.) Edible goods
3.) Reused
4.) Repurposed
5.) Donation in kind
6.) Getting them what they asked for
7.) Purchasing from local companies
8.) Made from sustainable materials

Let's get into this further:

1.) Experiences- These are the gifts that don't require you to buy a material object (which reduces the material waste and it eliminates any energy waste to create/transport that object). You are not gifting a physical item, and therefore, you are decreasing the amounts of goods created. Experience gifts are things like: restaurant gift card, museum admission, etc. This is often times the gift that keeps on giving past the holidays, and it gifts one of the most precious things: time with another person. This is also the perfect present for the person that already has everything.

2.) Edible goods-The elimination of physical products is still evident in this gift. However, it is a present that the receiver doesn't have to travel to and therefore they don't need to use fuel/ By gifting some noms to someone, you are giving them a gift that doesn't have any waste packaging, isn't another physical object to hold onto, and it is something that can be so diverse depending on the receiver. If you know that the person is a busy lady, it might be wonderful to give her one of those meals in a jar that have been circulating the interwebs like here (freeing up some of their time in the future), or you can make that delicious batch of fudge for the sweet tooth in your family.

3.) Reused- You have heard me say time and time again about my love for thrift store shopping. Although, I realize that this is not everybody's cup of tea, you can still buy items that are brand new at thrift stores that would have been thrown away from major department stores. For example, Target is constantly donating things to Goodwill that are brand new. These items were just going to be thrown away, but you saved them from the trash. Some have issues with used clothes and all that but items like picture frames have not been harmed by being hung on another person's wall, and there are so many other items in that category. These items have not been destroyed by being used once or twice from another family.

4.) Repurpose- Some items that you find at the thrift store can be given immediate new life, and if you are on the Pinterest scene, you can see how someone can make something like 2 clothespins into a car. Okay, maybe not quite that extreme, but there are loads of ideas of things to make with old/unwanted items. One thing that I do for presents is I rescue jewelry/beads from being thrown away and reuse them to make prettier pieces of jewelry. It is something so simple, but it just needs a new eye for a new use.

5.) Donation in kind- For the person that has everything, it is wonderful to give a donation to a cause the receiver cares about/is involved in. It is a personal present where you need to pay attention to what they care about, and it eliminates any excess presents/junk.

6.) Getting them what they asked for- I am guilty of not wanting to give someone the present that they asked for because I have felt like it is impersonal to just ask someone what they want. However, if you think about it, you are giving them exactly what they want instead of giving them a piece of junk that they are unhappy with, and they will still probably buy the item. They'll be stuck at home with 2 more things instead of just the original idea.

7.) Purchasing from local companies- Yes, this is great for the local economy AND for the environment. By keeping it local, you are minimizing fuel costs for everyone involved, and you are more likely to address local items made from local products instead of items made in a foreign country with foreign goods.

8.) By purchasing/making items made from sustainable materials, you are investing in another individual not using a material that is good for the environment. For example, when you buy wood toys, these can eventually biodegrade instead of toys that are made from plastic.

Friday, December 5, 2014

The lowdown:
1.) I am pretty obsessed with these frosted windows at max stops.
2.) A Nanoblocks elephant that I made.
3.) The sunrises this week has been particularly beautiful. I always want to take pictures like this when I see groups of birds on telephone wires.4.) Spotted this sign at an antique mall.5.) Shopped for vintage Christmas wares with the Mister.6.) Had delicious noms and played Forbidden Desert with friends.

On another note, this week has been a bit of a drag where I haven't really felt motivated or inspired. Something that always makes me feel better is looking at pictures of animals. I found the below image here of the cat experiencing snow for the first time. It makes me laugh so hard. Yes, it is my current background for my phone.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Some days, you are adventurous, and you try out something new. Some days, your adventurous spirit pays off, and you rock an awesome outfit. That day was NOT today.

This morning, I decided to try something new and mix it up in my wardrobe. (Read: oh man, girl tried to be creative on a Monday morning after a 4 day weekend. What was she thinking?) By this afternoon, I recognized the disaster that had exploded on my body. It. was. BAD.

But you know what? I tried something new. How are you supposed to hit a home run when you don't even practice hitting the ball? So today was not my day. Who cares? We can't be afraid to try new things. Trying is something that I've been doing a lot lately, and now, I notice that when I try I succeed a lot more often (no, I am not just talking about clothes people).

Shirt(actually a dress): thrifted from Goodwill originally from TargetBelt: Came with dressSkirt: thrifted from RerunCardigan: Friend gave it to meScarf: Thrifted from GoodwillShoes: Thrifted from random Pick of the Litter in Newport

Like the Season

A Lifestyle Blog that is written by me, Autumn. I am a native Oregonian who loves: homesteading, crafting, adventuring to new places around town, and sharing the odds and ends of other life adventures with people. Throughout life, I have become enamored with learning others stories, so I bring my story and my life to the wide open interwebs in hopes of learning others' stories.